Wanda Gaertner
Researcher at the research group for Media, Innovation and Contemporary Technologies, Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Product Design, Ghent University
Wanda holds a Master's degree in Product Design (Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany) with a specialisation in inclusive and participatory design.
Her work combines user research, requirements analysis and prototyping to develop innovative solutions in a participatory approach with and for diverse target groups. Since April 2025, Wanda is pursuing a PhD on Inclusive Design of Emerging Technologies under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Bas Baccarne.
She is an active member of academic societies such as the GI Society of Informatics and the GTPF Society for Transdisciplinary and Participatory Research.
Previously, she worked as a research associate at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technologies (FIT) in the Human Centred Engineering and Design department, where she was involved in various research projects focusing on user research, participatory design and the potential of AI for gender equality and inclusion. Previously, Wanda worked as a service designer in the healthcare sector and as a freelance designer and illustrator.